Canada hopes new emissions rules will get the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline one step closer to US State Department approval. The pipeline would carry 830,000 barrels of Canadian oil sands to US Gulf Coast refineries daily.

Smart phones, tablets, laptops, and other consumer electronics demand more lithium. But the largest driver for future lithium use will be in electric vehicles and home batteries for solar panels. That has lithium on the verge a boom for which supply can no longer be taken for granted.

Mexico's first private oil bidding did not pan out as those eager to invest had hoped, write Jeremy Martin and Alexis Arthur of the Institute of the Americas. But the uninspiring results are only the beginning, not the end, of Mexico's historic energy reform.

Canada hopes new emissions rules will get the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline one step closer to US State Department approval. The pipeline would carry 830,000 barrels of Canadian oil sands to US Gulf Coast refineries daily.

The deadline for Iran nuclear talks is looming, and a successful deal would mean must more Iranian oil on the world market. As Nick Cunningham writes, Western oil majors are among those clambering to invest.

The rail line involved in the 2013 Lac-Megantic oil train derailment, which killed 47 people, now faces criminal charges for breaking Canadian safety and environmental laws. The disaster raised questions about oil train safety throughout North America.

A deal stopping Iran's nuclear program and lifting Western sanctions on the country would immediately push down oil prices, writes Nick Cunningham. The country has 40 million barrels of oil in storage and could ramp up production quickly.

Exxon Mobil is halting production at three offshore oil platforms because it has no way to transport its crude. In May, a pipeline breach spilled an estimated 100,000 gallons of oil along the scenic Santa Barbara coast.

Russia's state gas company will soon begin surveying for a pipeline through the Black Sea. That pipeline will carry Russian gas to Turkey and into Europe, sidestepping routes through Ukraine that have been shut off amid political disputes.

The debate over lifting the ban on US oil exports is heating up in Washington. Allowing for crude oil exports could create US jobs, writes Michael McDonald, and push down the international price of oil.

Western sanctions on Russia haven't stopped Royal Dutch Shell from partnering with Russia's Gazprom on several projects, writes Charles Kennedy. Many of the projects will help Russian gas get to Europe.

Production from US shale fields is likely to slow, as low oil prices challenge the economics of unconventional drilling, Nick Cunningham writes. But that doesn't mean oil prices will rebound any time soon.